Strategic Cost Optimization: Driving Business Innovation While Reducing IT Costs

Transcription

1 Strategic Cost Optimization: Driving Business Innovation While Reducing IT Costs CIOs embrace strategic cost optimization initiatives by striking a balance between IT spend and investments in business innovation.

2 Executive Summary Faced with ongoing business uncertainty and never-ending pressure to optimize IT spend, CIOs are shifting away from pure cost reduction programs and embracing more strategic cost-saving initiatives. Strategic cost optimization techniques prepare organizations for growth by striking the right balance between reduced IT spend as a percentage of revenue and increased investments in business innovation and IT improvement initiatives. Thus, many CIOs are turning to strategic IT cost optimization (ITCO) programs that support a business mandate to simultaneously innovate and build long-term competitive advantage while reducing technology-related costs. This white paper weighs the benefits and downsides of shortterm cost reduction vs. strategic cost optimization programs and offers a four-level framework for prioritizing initiatives that enable IT to better support the business, both today and for the future. It provides a framework that can help CIOs prioritize cost optimization initiatives by considering not only the potential cost savings, but also other benefits, such as time requirements, degree of organizational and technical risk, impact on customers and investment required. 2 KEEP CHALLENGING March 2014

4 Short-term Cost Reduction vs. Strategic IT Cost Optimization Decision-makers often resort to cost-cutting measures in response to business pressures to reduce IT spend. However, by focusing on short-term cost-cutting within organizational siloes and without the context of the business strategy and technology roadmap, these initiatives often result in higher IT costs in the long term and, in some cases, are abandoned altogether. Figure 1 compares the outcomes of short-term cost-cutting initiatives with a more forward-looking strategic cost optimization program focused on organizational health. Strategic IT optimization initiatives require upfront investments and are conducted within the context of the business and IT strategy. While a long-term perspective on cost-cutting is important, short-term reductions are achievable through the identification of quick wins that are less disruptive to the business (e.g., software license reductions, application consolidation and retiring applications). As time progresses, organizations begin to realize the benefits of these investments and cost-saving initiatives. The savings that result can then be directed to bottomline spend reductions, or some portion can be reinvested in subsequent optimization initiatives, depending on the current and future strategic needs of the business. Large upfront investments that are needed to drive lower unit costs are often counterproductive due to: Unpredictable business requirements and IT demands (e.g., fluctuating economic, sector and industry conditions). Cost Reduction vs. Cost Optimization Capital Investment in IT Initiatives ($) Short-term impact of cost saving initiatives. IT spend reductions from enhanced agility and efficiency. Fractional reinvestment of IT savings. IT Costs ($) Cost increases due to strategic misalignment, lack of scale, rework, etc. Time Time Figure 1 4 KEEP CHALLENGING March 2014

5 Potential business exit/divestiture. Short-term opportunities or projects that are inconsistent with the long-term business direction. Rapid new business/growth opportunities that require frequent IT changes and expensive scaling. Software as a service (SaaS) and other services delivered via the cloud may appear to be more expensive initially, but they may often provide improved long-term returns. This is because of the operational and financial flexibility that these initiatives afford, such as consumption-based pricing that variablizes cost outlays. Thus, a strategic IT cost optimization program is not a one-time initiative. Instead, it is a continuous improvement exercise for CIOs seeking to optimize IT spend and deliver a sustainable business advantage. However, CIOs can no longer concentrate resources and investments on cost reduction efforts alone; they must maintain an appropriate balance between meeting savings targets and supporting necessary innovation and process improvements that future-proof the business. Four Levels of Strategic Cost Optimization Figure 2 illustrates how an organization can transform its cost optimization efforts from tactical to strategic and realize maximum value over a specific period of time. Our framework helps CIOs and other decision-makers weigh the risk-reward tradeoffs of all possible initiatives before implementing them. A Framework for Strategic Cost Optimization Low High Cost Savings Tighter alignment with business Do more with less 1 Transform to higher levels Transform: Invest more to optimize more Agenda: Evaluate technology, broaden capabilities, create new sources of revenue. Rationalize: Business relevance, flexibility, agility Agenda: Rationalize IT portfolio, reduce functional redundancies. Optimize: Remove waste, increase efficiency Agenda: Improve processes, go lean, evaluate target operating models (shared services), exercise sourcing options. Reduce: Reduce costs and prioritize spend Agenda: Cut IT costs, prioritize demand, span of control enhancements. Tactical Nature of IT Cost Optimization Strategic Figure 2 STRATEGIC COST OPTIMIZATION: DRIVING BUSINESS INNOVATION WHILE REDUCING IT COSTS 5

6 Here is a closer look at each level within the strategic cost optimization framework: Level 1 (Reduce): Cut costs and prioritize spend. Companies tend to prioritize cost optimization initiatives by simply considering short-term cash savings. While cash savings are important, prioritizing costoptimization initiatives with only short-term goals in mind can cause unanticipated problems. Decision-makers must consider the degree of organizational and technical risk, as well as the impact of such myopic thinking on consumers of IT services. Level 2 (Optimize): Remove waste and increase efficiency. Cost-cutting can have unforeseen negative consequences. The focus should be on eliminating excess waste while increasing the efficiency of current systems. Speed-to-market, quality and utilization have become exceedingly important. Suitable metrics to measure performance should be implemented, such as speed of IT delivery (i.e., development and implementation time), reduction in transaction time for users and integration of valuable IT assets. Such metrics can indicate the efficiency level of IT initiatives across all areas of the organization. Level 3 (Rationalize): Seek business relevance, flexibility and agility. It is imperative to focus on business goals and ensure that IT initiatives are aligned with business objectives and priorities. IT performance metrics should be closely tied to business metrics so that their alignment can be measured appropriately. Some of the metrics that could help with the measurement of an organization s business innovation include addition of new customers/users, ability to meet current and future functional needs and reduction in time to market of new products and services. Level 4 (Transform): Invest more to optimize more. As economic conditions improve, companies can focus their cost optimization efforts on implementing long-term business and IT process improvements, enabling business growth and innovation, and repositioning the business to sustain a competitive advantage. As the percentage of IT investment aimed at business transformation increases, the percentage spent on business sustenance should remain constant or decline as operational efficiencies are achieved over time. IT Cost Optimization Planning Recognizing that cost optimization teams usually operate on tight timeframes, we have created a framework for prioritizing cost optimization techniques by considering not only the potential benefits in terms of savings, but also the time requirements, degree of organizational and technical risks, impact on customers, and investment required. By evaluating the factors depicted in Figure 3 (see next page), CIOs can weigh the future strategic value, risks and benefits of cost optimization initiatives. In assessing options, decision-makers should also take into account: Time to complete the initiative. Tactical and organizational risk. Upfront cash investments required to achieve downstream savings. 6 KEEP CHALLENGING March 2014

7 Prioritizing IT Cost Optimization Dimension Score Strategic Value Low Medium High IT Control Low Medium High Potential Cost and Benefit Low Medium High Customer Impact Negative Neutral Positive Time to Benefit Realization < 18 months 6 18 months < 6 months Degree of Business Risk Reengineering of current processes and organizational structures. Staff redundancies. Limited changes in roles and organizational structures. Minimal organizational change and staff impact. Degree of Technical Risk Impact on operating system, database and middleware. Moderate impact on few technical components. Minor impact on technical components. Likelihood of Reprioritization and Cancellation Investment Requirement High Medium Low High Medium Low Total Score Reject Evaluate Accept Figure 3 Even after using our framework, some opportunities may not be addressable due to various constraints, such as time to completion. Thus, it is a good idea to group and map initiatives in a grid to develop an implementation timeline. Three-Step Approach to Strategic IT Cost Optimization We follow a three-step approach that tailors IT cost optimization to organizationspecific optimization goals. Figure 4 highlights the key components of our IT cost optimization framework. STRATEGIC COST OPTIMIZATION: DRIVING BUSINESS INNOVATION WHILE REDUCING IT COSTS 7

8 IT Cost Optimization: Three-Step Approach IT Investment Optimization IT & Business Alignment Flat or declining IT budgets, coupled with an increased demand for IT services. Removal of expenses from current spend or run rate in order to invest in future business opportunities. Define IT investment optimization goals Identify investment opportunity Prioriti tize investment portfolio Develop ongo ing governance Opportunity Identification IT Cost Assessment Business challenges identified through merger, acquisition or divestiture of business operation. Increased utilization of IT resources and assets. Alternate sourcing Business alignment Vendor renegotiation Consolidation/ rationalization Standardization People alignment Realization of Benefits Software Hosting Network Application portfolio rationalization Infrastructure rationalization Organization and operating model Global sourcing End User Computing Operations and process transformation IT Overhead Management Figure 4 Our methodology assesses a core set of key organizational objectives (i.e., total cost savings, impact on customers, time requirements, degree of organizational and technical risk and required investment) for various IT cost optimization initiatives. When planned strategically, these objectives can result in a variety of benefits to IT organizations (see Figure 5). Looking Forward Business uncertainty will continue to impact IT organizations, and even a wellthought-out cost savings program can prove ineffective in the long run. However, when cost pressures are intense, businesses must overcome the dual challenge of continuously innovating while reducing spend to outperform the competition. Overcoming these obstacles requires a strategic cost optimization program to strike a balance between cost reduction initiatives and investments needed to generate process efficiencies, improve quality of service, build a stronger value chain, improve skill management and increase customer satisfaction. Further, cost optimization cannot be a one-time strategic IT initiative. Instead, it should be a guiding principle for managing IT in the most efficient manner while responding promptly to fluctuations in business conditions. 8 KEEP CHALLENGING March 2014

10 Quick Take Lighting Up IT A leading electric utilities company in the U.S. engaged us to help the organization embrace a robust IT cost optimization methodology. The company s goals were to achieve significant cost savings across infrastructure, process and technology through: Reduced technology total cost of ownership and improved ROI. Effective sourcing of technology resources. Process and operations maturity. Tool rationalization and end-state planning. We engaged with various business stakeholders within the organization to optimize and consolidate organization-wide processes through self-optimization and varied levels of sourcing approaches. We established clear service and operational level agreements (SLA and OLA) and used service automation to enable productivity improvements. The team rationalized the utility s infrastructure, application and tools costs, implemented enterprise monitoring standards and enabled end-to-end tools integration. Lastly, we implemented ITIL component capacity management (CCM) and SACM processes, including IT asset management. Key benefits of the IT cost optimization framework program included: Cost savings People $5M labor savings via self-optimization. $9M average labor savings per year via selective sourcing. $14M to $19M average labor savings per year via full sourcing over a span of five years. Tools $1.6M software license savings as a result of consolidation. $3.4M in labor savings through end-to-end integration and automation. 20% reduction in overlapping tools. Technology $9M estimated savings via technology optimization. Reduction in Op-Ex (i.e., vendor support and software costs) by as much as 20% in full-time staff supporting network operations. Approximately 15% to 20% cost savings in 85% of virtualized environments. Process Improved cost-capacity balance. Improved system availability and productivity against capacity issues. Cost avoidance on duplication of tools, data sources and processes. Effective Demand Management Establishment of an effective demand/forecast process for capacity. Better Skill Management Cross-training of resources to enhance resource utilization and improve focus on strategic activities. Selective use of third parties for low-skilled activities and gradual increase of offshore resources. Better Product Quality Improvement in client s perception of quality. Robust SLAs and OLAs across the organization. Reduced time to solution of complex issues/problems. 10 KEEP CHALLENGING March 2014

11 About the Authors Harold Albo is a Director in Cognizant Business Consulting s Strategic Services Practice. With over 25 years of professional experience, Harold s strategic consulting expertise spans IT transformation projects, application portfolio analysis, and IT service management and governance. He has deep experience in IT performance and cost optimization. Harold holds a bachelor s degree from North Carolina State University and an M.B.A. from the University of South Carolina. He can be reached at Shreshth Anand is a Senior Consultant in Cognizant Business Consulting s Strategic Services Practice. With six-plus years of IT consulting experience, Shreshth s expertise spans IT process management, organization change management and performance management. He holds a bachelor s degree from Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology and an M.B.A. from the Asian Institute of Management, Manila. Shreshth can be reached at Manga Rajesh Gali is a Senior Consultant in Cognizant Business Consulting s Strategic Services Practice. He has more than eight years of IT advisory experience spanning IT strategy and transformation, organization change management, IT cost optimization and global sourcing strategy. Rajesh holds a bachelor s degree from Indian School of Mines and an M.B.A. from XLRI Jamshedpur, India. He can be reached at STRATEGIC COST OPTIMIZATION: DRIVING BUSINESS INNOVATION WHILE REDUCING IT COSTS 11

12 About Cognizant Cognizant (NASDAQ: CTSH) is a leading provider of information technology, consulting, and business process outsourcing services, dedicated to helping the world s leading companies build stronger businesses. Headquartered in Teaneck, New Jersey (U.S.), Cognizant combines a passion for client satisfaction, technology innovation, deep industry and business process expertise, and a global, collaborative workforce that embodies the future of work. With over 50 delivery centers worldwide and approximately 171,400 employees as of December 31, 2013, Cognizant is a member of the NAS- DAQ-100, the S&P 500, the Forbes Global 2000, and the Fortune 500 and is ranked among the top performing and fastest growing companies in the world. Visit us online at or follow us on Twitter: Cognizant. World Headquarters 500 Frank W. Burr Blvd. Teaneck, NJ USA Phone: Fax: Toll Free: European Headquarters 1 Kingdom Street Paddington Central London W2 6BD Phone: +44 (0) Fax: +44 (0) India Operations Headquarters #5/535, Old Mahabalipuram Road Okkiyam Pettai, Thoraipakkam Chennai, India Phone: +91 (0) Fax: +91 (0) Copyright 2014, Cognizant. All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the express written permission from Cognizant. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. All other trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.

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